• Question: Do you think us youngsters won't have any jobs as there are robots invented for various jobs?

    Asked by Haritha to Anna, Brian, Jacob, Jun, Lin, Mackenzie, Nick, Valerie, Yee Whye on 9 Nov 2019.
    • Photo: Jacob Leygonie

      Jacob Leygonie answered on 9 Nov 2019: last edited 9 Nov 2019 01:04


      I do not believe that at all. Now more than ever the jobs for yougsters will be abundant and the most interesting ones.

      Namely, the machines/robots can do more and more tasks, but mostly the ones that the human don’t want to do (and if the human wants to, then it is always possible to unplug the robot). New tasks/jobs then arise. How to design new robots? How to have full control over them? New ideas can be tackled. New challenges for science.

      Would you agree?

    • Photo: Yee Whye Teh

      Yee Whye Teh answered on 9 Nov 2019:


      I don’t think robots will be the reason we will have jobs or not in the future. They will change the nature of jobs though. I think in the future, to have a good job, and to be successful in life, we need to tap into what makes us humans and what cannot be replaced by robots. Like nurses and doctors taking care of people, teachers inspiring youngsters, and engineers and scientists using their creativity to solve problems.

    • Photo: Lin Shuyu

      Lin Shuyu answered on 12 Nov 2019:


      This is a classic AI debate on whether robots will take away all the jobs. Leaving the fact aside for one second (as other researchers have already given great answers), I want to ask: wouldn’t it be wonderful if robots can do everything that ensures our society to function and we just sit at home, watching TV, spending time with families, travelling around world, taking care of environment, reading and becoming philosophers? We would be able to go back to all these things that we currently have no time for. I think it’ll be a wonderful time! I think this is the fundamental motivation for us to design more capable robots/machines/algorithms – we want to release humans from repetitive mundane work and set people free to do things that their true passion lies or that are really important to human kind.

    • Photo: Mackenzie Graham

      Mackenzie Graham answered on 13 Nov 2019:


      I think some jobs that people used to do will be gone, as robots/computers take them over. But this has always happened, throughout history. (There aren’t many blacksmiths or barrel makers anymore). But new jobs will be created, that we haven’t even thought of yet. As others have said below, the goal is to create robots to do the jobs that we humans don’t want to do (or that are dangerous, or boring), so that we can focus on the things that only humans can do, and that we really want to do!

      Another question might be, would it be fair to make a human do a job that a robot could do?

Comments